Guitar
Fretboard Lessons Know the fretboard like the back of your hand
This series of guitar fretboard lessons will take
you through the
necessary practical steps for learning the fretboard.
We'll start with learning the basics followed by where the notes lie on
the fretboard, before
moving on to string/note relationships and finally intervals.
This all goes hand in hand
with guitar theory and
should be your first stop before moving on to learn how notes really
work together in chords and scales.
Video
introduction
If you want a more interactive and comprehensive guide
to mastering the fretboard, I highly recommend Guitar
Notes Master.
Guitar
fretboard lessons - fretboard basics
We'll cover the basics here just in case - many guitarists
play for months or even years and still don't know this stuff...
Firstly, as you probably know,
the frets on your guitar are numbered - learn to number your
fret spaces:
With 0 representing the open strings (not fretted) these are
the same
notes as those at fret 12 - the notes at fret 12 are one octave higher
than the open strings...
Once you get to the 12th fret you're at the octave
and so fret 13 notes will be the same as fret 1 notes, but an octave
higher. Fret 16 notes will be the same as fret 4 notes but an octave
higher. There should be dot inlays in the same intervals
passed the 12th fret as there are an octave below.
Learn the notes on the fretboard
Learning all the notes on the
fretboard can be learned the easy way, or
the hard way... How about the easy way for now though?
Follow the fretboard diagrams
below - study one diagram a day for just 15 minutes and this will sink
in very quickly.
Day 1 - E string
marker notes
First, you should create
"marker points" on the fretboard in your mind. Actually, they're most
likely
already there, on your guitar. Use the inlay markers
to quickly identify the following
notes...
So we already established the open low E string was... E!
At fret 3 -
G At fret 5 - A (so exactly the same as
the open A string) At fret 7 - B At fret 9 - C# (C sharp - more on sharps
and flats in a minute) At fret 12 - E octave (a higher
sounding E)
Then, the whole thing starts
again an octave higher from the 12th fret. If you have 24 frets on your
guitar, the 24th will be an even higher E note.
Day 2 - fill in the
gaps
Now we just need to learn the
notes on the E string in between the inlay marked
notes.
Let's take a look...
From the low open E to the octave E at the 12th fret, the order of
notes is:
E
| F | F# | G | Ab |
A | Bb | B | C
| C# | D | Eb | E
This order alone can tell you all you need to know - for
example the
open B string starts on B obviously, so find B on the order above and
follow the cycle from that point! There is a much more practical way to
learn the notes
all over the fretboard though which we'll look at in part 2 soon.
Tip - B and C don't
have any sharps or flats in between them, neither do E and F.
Day 3 - A string
marker notes
Just like with the E string
notes, let's apply the same method to the A string notes.
1st, the notes at the inlay
markers...
Again, from open A to the octave at fret 12 try and just learn these
note positions, so if someone were to shout "FRET 7!" you'd almost
immediately be able to say what note lies there on the A string. If
someone does scream out something like that randomly though, they may
be dangerous... answer them and run away.
Day 4 - fill the gaps
again
Just like we did with the low
E
string...
Remember how there were no sharps and flats in between B and C, E and F
- same applies wherever you are!
OK, once you've reached day 4
we can progress to the next part (or you can move straight on to more interactive fretboard learning).
More essential guitar
fretboard lessons to come...
Just before we move on to find out a quick and simple way to learn the
notes on the other strings, a few final tips for
this part...
Learn the order of notes. E.g. if I asked "what
comes after
C# (C sharp)?", you should answer "D" or "what comes before B?" answer
"Bb (B flat)"
With the two
strings we've covered already, you can probably see some string
relation going on. The E note on the A string (fret 7) is the same as
the Low E string (although obviously a lower sounding E on the open E
string.)
The B note on the A string
(fret 2) is the same as fret 7 on the low E string.
The C# note on the E
string (fret 9) is the same as fret 4 on the A string
